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Monday, September 8, 2008

Daily Football Roundup

Buffs look more like a power in Week 2

By Greg Jaklewicz

EDMOND, Okla. - West Texas A&M expected to be strong offensively and defensively.On Saturday night, the Buffaloes flexed those muscles against Central Oklahoma.WT on offense piled up 637 yards and scored 42 points. Only mistakes kept that total from being much higher.The Buffs yielded 231 yards on defense, half of that in the fourth quarter with reserves on the field. The defense also contributed a touchdown with a blocked punt. Nine times, the Buffs forced a punt after three plays.

That 1-2 punch is what has the No. 9 Buffs ranked among the top 10 teams in NCAA Division II but was not on display in the season opener against Mesa State.

ADA, Okla. -- The obligatory kudos that normally are associated with a victory were followed with a mantra from Bo Atterberry that has been as prevalent as the credo of "Fight, Finish, Faith" since the coach arrived at Texas A&M-Kingsville a year ago January.

Composure.

That trait, along with victories, has been a rare commodity surrounding the Javelinas of late, most recently in last week's season-opening 40-14 loss at North Dakota. It took the Javelinas four ballgames to achieve a semblance of it last season. Then it dissipated miserably in a four-game losing streak before A&M-Kingsville won two of its final three ballgames.

This time around, it took two games for Atterberry's words to find the mark, and he was quick to return to the composure issue not minutes after the Javelinas put together one of their best performance under his watch, a 44-14 trumping of East Central (Okla.) at Norris Field.

Zack Eskridge’s first college pass fell incomplete, dropped by his home boy Rockwall receiver and friend Andy Tanner.

A few minutes later, Brad Green’s first college pass was caught – but not by the guy he threw it to. Southeastern Oklahoma strong safety Hunter Phelan intercepted Green’s maiden throw.Daniel Polk sat in the stands at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night and watched the two young quarterbacks who are trying to fill his shoes.

“My first pass was to Andre Kelsick. It was a completion,” Polk smiled as he remembered back to his redshirt freshman season four years ago and the first of 566 passes he would throw for Midwestern State. “I got out of the pocket, closed my eyes and heaved it down the field. It was more luck than skill.”